EE RE
=
Bellefonte, Pa., April 16, 1926.
GHOSTS.
They say there’s no such thing as ghosts
To haunt our earthy way.
But as for me, they come in hosts
To glorify my day.
There's ghosts in every path I take,
They haunt me sleeping or awake,
And life is lovelier for their sake,
And woe less cold and gray.
There's one that daily comes to me,
And at my side hath stood .
For years with loving gravity,
To point the way to good.
A spirit full of beauty rare,
‘Whose presence speaks but kindly care,
And breathes the well-remembered air
Of gracious Fatherhood.
There's ghosts of days now long gone by,
Fair hours of the past;
Of unforgotten times ere I
Upon life's seas was cast—
Fond days of love, of days so sweet
When life was play, and every street
Resounded to the dancing feet
Of fairies running fast!
There's ghosts of comradships of yore,
Dear friends who've passed along
Now dwelling on that further shore
Where naught there is of wrong;
All waiting there with hearts serene,
A goodly group, a pleasant scene,
To welcome me with kindly mien,
And choruses of song.
There's ghosts of lips, and ghosts of eyes
With wondrous witcheries,
To place the spell of Paradise
On him who only sees.
Ah, lonely Soul, that dwells apart
From such! A ship without a chart
A cold, deserted, empty Heart
Devoid of Memories!
—John Kendrick Bangs.
THE EMERGENCY BOMB.
On the first day of October, 1920,
the Alamo Airlines Corporation, in
spite of the magnitude of its title,
could be accurately described in a
paragraph. The firm consisted of
two members, William Snow, a con-
firmed optimist especially on matters
aeronautical, and O. B. Freeman, who
was the opposite. Freeman’s pessi-
mism, however, did not confine itself
to aviation but was all-embracing.
Yet he was loyal to his partner and,
although invariably predicting the
worst at every turn, was an unusual
handy man to have around an air-
plane. He could do anything from
grinding a valve to a handstand on
the upper wing with the plane a
thousand feet in the air. Both men
had served with honor in the Air Ser-
vice during the war and, finding them-
selves foot-loose at its close, had tak-
en up commercial aviation as a means
of livelihood.
They were both, in a sense, young-
sters being twenty-two and twenty-
three years of age, respectively, and
wanted to see all of the world possi-
ble in the shortest time.
As to the equipment of the firm,
that consisted of one ex-army train-
ing plane. The exchequer was empty
—and the liabilities amounted to one
unpaid hotel bill and two thoroughly
healthy appetites sharpened by the
proximity of the dinner hour and no
prospects of eating. Briefly, the firm
was on the rocks.
The partners gloomily admitted
this as, in their room at the Martin
House, the sole hostelry of Ludlow,
they discussed their finances. The
plane had been flown to Ludlow with,
literally, their last penny in the hope
that the firm could secure a contract
for giving a series of acrobatic ex-
hibitions as well as carrying passen-
gers at the Ludlow county fair which
was to take place the following week.
This contract would have meant
much to Snow and Freeman for Lud-
low was an out of the way town in
southern Texas and airplanes were
few. Therefore, business, especially
in the way of passenger-carrying,
would have been excellent. It was a
golden opportunity to recoup some of
the many losses that the firm had suf-
fered, but had been snatched from
their grasp by the opposition of a
single obdurate, but very influential
member of the fair association.
“There he goes now,” remarked
Snow as he motioned Freeman to the
window. The object of his attention
was a heavy set middle-aged man who
emerged from the entrance of the
bank facing the hotel and made his
way pompously down the street. “The
Honorable Joseph H. Howard, presi-
dent of the First State Bank of Lud-
low, the ice plant, the power com-
pany, proprietor of the Elite motion
picture palace, and the hardware
store, and last but not by any means
least, chairman of the Ludlow Coun-
ty Fair Association. “The old skin-
flint” he finished feelingly.
“I told you so. If you had not been
so sure of landing this contract we
might have been back in San Antonio
right now. There, at least, we could
have been eating,” answered Free-
man dismally. “I’m positive that my
stomach has shrunk from the enfore-
ed absence of food. The prospect of
existing for some time to come with
no visible means of nutriment is ter-
rible,” he groaned realistically. “I
have it,” he cried after a moment.
“We can trade the gasoline left in
the plane for dinner.”
“Bright idea, that,” replied Snow.
“How’d we pay the hotel bill pr even
manage to leave this place? Just
control that voracious digestive ap-
paratus of yours for a time while we
consider the situation. There’s a way
out. We've been broke before. You
know.
“Seems like that is our usual con-
dition, too,” was Freeman’s rejoinder.
“We nearly get something. Then we
lose it. This contract would have put
us a little ahead so that we could
have a small start on the mail con-
tract. But of course our friend How-
ard disapproves of airplanes so he
tells them to use the money for a
memorial fountain or something
equally as useless. Well, its just as
I expected.” He threw his stocky
form disgustedly on the bed. “Think
Ill take a nap—at least that won’t
cost anything. You know, if I ever
get rich I shall certainly start a fund
for stranded aviators. Not much
chance though,” he yawned sadly.
In spite of himself Snow smiled at
the discouraging remarks of his com-
panion. He was used to them and
knew that although Freeman always
searched out the darkest side of every
cloud he was at heart, all that a part-
ner should be. When the crisis of
any undertaking came he could al-
ways be depended cn. Snow was
glad he was with him in their pres-
ent situation. Well, he reflected, the
main thing now was to accumulate
sufficient money to pay the hotel bill.
After that the problem of returning
to San Antonio, their base of opera-
tions, and trying again was to be con-
sidered. Frowning slightly, Snow let
his gaze wander along the main street
of the little town. It wore an air of
festivity in honor of the approaching
fair, which was the important event
of the year to the farmers and stock
raisers in the vicinity of Ludlow.
Just at present the stroet was empty
except for a few automobiles parked
at the curb and the saddle horses and
teams tethered to the better patron-
ized hitching rack in front of the
town hall. The sidewalk, too, devoid
of life it was twelve o’clock and every
member of the community of near
two thousand souls, was engaged in
the important business of eating.
Many of the shop owners had locked
their places of business for the period
of the noon hour. Practically the
only two people in Ludlow who were
not industriously plying knife ' and
fork were the two men in the hotel
room.
Stimulated by hunger, Snow’s
thoughts moved swiftly. He found
himself reviewing the history of the
company, of the time when he and
Freeman first purchased their air-
plane, now affectionately called
“Bridget” from long association. That
was two years ago, just after the
armistice. Since then life had been
a constant struggle to keep enough
gasoline flowing into “Bridget’s” tank
to keep her in the air. They had
started out with the intention of en-
larging their business and bidding
for a government contract to carry
mail, a long cherished dream. Both
partners were convinced that they
could operate a mail route successful-
ly at a cost far below that of the
present Air mail system. But the
acquisition of the capital necessary
to purchase the airplanes and sup-
plies, and to furnish a bond, which
had to be filed before they could bid,
was proving a task beyond their ex-
pectations.
Once, in the spring, they had saved
nearly enough money to purchase an-
other plane. This would have ena-
bled them to increase their regular
business and, at the same time, made
a substantial start of the equipment
for the mail contract but the day be-
for the deal was completed, “Brid-
get’s” ‘motor had thrown a connect-
ing rod at a time when she was over
a strip of woodland and he was forced
to attempt a landing on a narrow
road with the result that .the airplane
had béen"broken into numerous parts.
What little remained of the financial
surplus after putting the plane back
into condition had gone to defray
Freeman’s expenses when he had con-
tracted pneumonia shortly after the
unlucky incident. With Freeman ser-
iously ill, the operations of the firm
had been curtailed and it had thus
sustained additional losses. Other
men would have given up in disgust,
but not Snow and Freeman. They
had started in aviation, and to avia-
tion they were going to stick.
So absorbed in his thoughts did
Snow become that he took little notice
of a black touring car which drew
quietly to a stop in front of the bank
nor of the two men who alighted and
entered the building. Neither did he
notice anything unusual when these
same men emerged five minutes later
and the car started unhurriedly down
the street. In a detached way he
watched it cross the single railroad
track and turn south on the dusty
highway where it accelerated its
speed to a surprising degree. Snow
speculated idly as to the reason for
the rapid departure of the car but
forgot the incident in his own
thoughts almost before the car had
faded in the distance.
A scream aroused him and he look-
ed up to see a woman standing in the
doorway of the bank. She was danc-
ing in her tracks and waving franti-
cally. He shook Freeman and togeth-
er they dashed across the street.
Snow was the most astonished
member of the group clustered about
the cage of the paying teller, for he
saw the teller, who had been the
sole occupant of the bank during the
dinner hour, being released from an
exceedingly efficient gag. He was
handcuffed hand and foot and alto-
gether as helpless as a mortal man
could be. From the excited talk about
them the two partners gathered that
the two men had entered the bank,
held up the teller at the point of a
pistol, and handcuffed him. They had
then thoroughly ransacked the vault
and emptied the teller’s cage of every
cent taking with them some eighteen
thousand dollars in money and a larg-
er amount in negotiable bonds. The
teller had been carried into the vauit
and left on the floor, after which the
robbers had left.
Then the unforeseen had happened
for almost as soon as they had left,
the lady whose screams had attracted
Snow’s attention had entered the
bank. The teller had been able,
luckily, to attract her attention by
striking the side of a thin metal fil-
ing cabinet with his toe, the only part
of his body that he could move. It
was the merest coincidence that the
woman had entered the bank at that
time for, as a rule, it did no business
at noon.
Snow thought of the black touring
car which had accelerated its speed
on the highway a short time before.
Probably the car was miles away by
this time. Just then he was rudely
pushed aside and Mr. Howard, his
face streaming with perspiration,
brushed past him and made his way
to the teller’s side. It did not take
! the banker long to become acquainted
with the facts of the case and when
he realized his loss he collapsed weak-
ly into a chair, pompous no longer.
There was much vain conjecture
among the crowd, which now filled
the bank, as to who had committed
the robbery and the direction that
they had taken. So well timed had
been the arrival of the black car that
no one mentioned it or even seemed
to have noticed it. Everyone pres-
ent was advancing a different theory
with the result that the place became
a bedlam and no progress was made.
Snow seized this opportunity to tell
Freeman, briefly, of the approach of
the black touring car and its depar-
ture, and while the local police force
of one, and the sheriff, made valiant,
but sadly handicapped efforts to or-
ganize a posse, the partners made
their way to the teller’s side and se-
cured a description of the robbers
which, though vague, tallied with the
men whom Snow had seen alight
from the black car and enter the bank.
Snow led the way to the chair where
the banker was sitting, still stunned
by the shock.
“Mr. Howard,” he said. The man
gave no sign of having heard him.
Snow shook his shoulder gently and,
with a start the president looked up.
“I think we have information that
can be of use to you,” Snow spoke
quickly. “Is there a place where we
can talk private?” Mr. Howard nod-
ded and motioning the town marshal
and sheriff to follow, led the way to
the rear of the bank.
Once in the banker’s office Snow
quickly told of the black touring car
and of the direction that it had taken
upon leaving town. As he listened,
Mr. Howard’s dejected manner left
him and hope gleamed in his eyes, on-
ly to die again as he spoke:
“Before we can catch up with them
they will be across the border,” his
head sank forward.
“But that is where we can help
you!” Snow cried eagerly. “We can
scour the country in our plane, locate
them before they reach the border,
land and turn in the information so
that they can be stopped.”
“Can you do it?” cried the banker.
“Easily, Is there a car that we can
use to reach the flying field quickly ?”
“Take mine,” replied Mr. Howard.
“I left the motor running in my hasie
to get into the bank. I see that the
marshal is already telephoning to the
towns immediately ahead and I'll
wire the border stations. And boys,”
the banker raised his hand, “That
contract is yours if you stop these
men.”
Snow did not hear his last words
for he was already half way to the
car. Freeman did, however, and told
Snow of the banker’s promise as they
sped toward the field which lay on
the edge of the town.
“It means we eat,” he finished ex-
ultantly. Then his pessimism re-
turned and he added, “If we catch |
them. That’s rather a big job.”
“Nonsense. We'll get them all
right. They will be easy to spot. I
can tell that car anywhere.”
“One chance in a hundred,” Free-
man replied morsely. He rubbed his
stomach reflectively. T’ll probably
collapse. with hunger at the ¢
moment and we'll lose them if we do
happen to locate the car.”
“You'll do nothing of the kind,”
grinned Snow. “We are out to land
that contract. Here we are,” he jam-
med on the brakes in front of the
gate of the large pasture used for an
emergency landing field.
But it took more than that to
stop Freeman. “I suppose the motor
won’t start,” he found time to pant
as he strove to keep up with the long-
er legged Snow as they ran over to
the plane.
For a miracle the motor did start
on the first whirl of the propeller.
As the day was warm, it took but a
short time to warm it up and in less
than ten minutes from the time the
partners left the bank the airplane
was facing into the wind and ready
to go.
Snow turned to Freeman, who
stood erect in the rear cockpit. “As
soon as we sight em we’ll land at the
nearest farmhouse where there is a
field suitable and get in touch with
the police by phone.
that they will be along the highway,
for by this time every foot of it is
being watched. The robbers have
probably deserted the main road and
are making their way toward the
border by a little-known route with
the intention of crossing it at some
obscure point. They have a good
chance to escape if they get near
enough to it,” he shouted above the
steady “put-put-put” of the idling
motor.
“I think that you are right, but we
had better watch the highway for a
time. They may not have figured on
being discovered so soon,” came Free-
man’s answer.
Snow nodded, opening the throttle
as he did so, and the plane rolled
smoothly across the expanse of the
field and slid into the air. He headed
the machine south, climbing steadily
in order to increase the field of vision.
In a short time Ludlow became a blur
in the distance.
When the plane reached an altitude
of one thousand feet he lowered the
nose and flew level over the straight
reddish-grey highway, which, except
for an occasional ranch house was
flanked on either side by mesquite
trees. Freeman braced himself
against the rush of air thrown back
by the propeller and peered anxious-
ly forward through his heavy gog-
gles. They passed over Barton,
twenty miles from Ludlow, in twelve
minutes ,a fact that both aviators
noted with satisfaction, for it meant
that they were, thanks to the help of
a steady wind from the north, mak-
ing a speed of a hundred miles an
hour and covering over two miles to
one of the black touring car, even
when traveling at its best clip.
Ten miles past Barton, Snow let
the plane come down to an altitude
of less than two hundred feet. Both
men began to scan every vehicle on
the road below closely. They con-
tinued for another ten miles, but fail-
ed to see the black car. They knew
then that it had turned off the high-
way or that it was hiding in one of
the towns that they had passed. If
I do not think |
to crash
ed nothing to do but to return, devoid ! into the fence and turn over.
of news, to Ludlow, for the local po-
lice could handle the situation.
were making for the river By a cir-
cuitous route, a most natural thing
under the circumstances, the services
A short time later a wondering |
But | rancher, on his way to the county
if they had turned off the road and |seat, came
by and the aviators piled
their captives into his small car and
commenced the return journey. Free-
man accompanied the robbers and
of the aviators would be ‘urgently | Snow flew the plane back, carrying
needed. Snow signaled his intentions | with him the money.
to Freeman and banked the plane
around, setting a course west.
Then luck, after being absent so
long, played into the hands of the
Alamo Airlines Corporation, for not
five minutes after the plane had turn-
ed from the highway Snow felt Free-
man’s hand grip his shoulder. Look-
ing up, he saw his partner pointing
excitedly to the left where faintly
discernible orn the horizon, was a
small cloud of dust. Again the plane
banked steeply as it changed its
course,
It seemed like centuries to the two
men in the airplane before they drew
near enough to the cloud of dust to
ascertain that it was caused by a
speeding automobile. Centuries more
seemed to pass before they could
identify the black touring car. It
was making terrific speed over a road
that appeared little more than a trail.
The Rio Grande river, and safety, was
less than ten miles ahead. It was
evident to the men in the plane that
{the robbers had chosen their avenue
| of escape with extreme care, for they
| were traveling over a sparsely settled
| section of the country and seemed
! thoroughly familiar with their route,
| as was evinced by the speed of their
car.
| The plane steadily drew abreast,
then ahead of the car. Controlling
{it with his left hand Snow managed
'to extract a pencil from his pocket
and scrawl a message to Freeman on
the back of an envelope.
“Will gain a few miles lead on
them, then land and ’phone,” he
wrote, and passed it back to his part-
ner.
i Instead of nodding, Freeman
; wrinkled his brows and peered intent-
| ly at the car. As if in answer to his
| questioning gaze, the car noticeably
accelerated its speed.
Freeman sat down and busily
| scrawled an answer to Snow’s mes-
: sage. Motioning him to stay near the
, car, he returned the envelope.
“They are too close to the border.
If we land to telephone we may lose
them. There is a heavy tool kit back
here. Get above the car I'll let them
have the kit. It will scare them, any-
way. They may think it’s a bomb
and the driver will lose control.
, ‘Zoom’ away if I miss or they start
shooting. I am sure that we can
‘make them lose control temporarily
jor run into a ditch so they cannot
reach the border before we can sum-’
imon help. We may even be able to
capture them Are you game?”
Snow read the message in growing
wonder. At its conclusion he snapped
the throttle shut and shouted above
| the scream of the air on the wires:
| “Nothing doing! They'll shoot us
full of holes.” ..
i “Go ahead.
pright,’. was en _He
' grinned, but in his eyes was the res-
olute expression of a man who has
I'll stop them all
| Freeman upon their return to Ludlow |
i
weighed the chances and is prepared
to fight to a finish. At the same time
i he hoisted up and poised the canvas
tool kit, a compact bundle weighing,
perhaps, thirty pounds, and when
hurled from the air, a deadly missle.
| It was the grin that decided Snow.
He had seen his companion look that
{ way many times in the hectic days
| overseas when he had settled back
on his safety belt and brought the
vicious, double machine guns to bear
on a swooping enemy. He knew that
Freeman would not fail.
Snow pushed the throttle wide open
and banked over until “Bridget” was
hanging directly over the speeding
automobile, He glanced inquiringly
at Freeman. The man in the rear
seat nodded and without hesitation
Snow pushed the control stick its en-
tire distance forward.
The bottom seemed to drop out of
the airplane as, with the motor fuli
on, it dove like a pullet for the car.
As it shot down Snow saw several
holes appear in the drumlike covering
of the lower wing and the shining
surface of the interplane strut near-
est him on the right was suddenly
broken oy a bullet that left a clean
white scar, like a streak of pain.
Then it was time to bring the stick
back. The plane seemed to skim the
top of the car—then shoot into the
air almost vertically, turning to the
right as it climbed.
Glancing back Snow saw the black
car swing drunkenly into the fence
to the left side of the road, ricochet
to the oher side, and turn turtle. As
he faced about he noticed Freeman’s
hands were empty.
The next minute an open space
showed below and he side-slipped the
plane down nearly to the edge of the
fence, turned into the field, and land-
ed. The machine had scarcely stop-
ped rolling before both partners
were out and making their way to-
ward the wrecked automobile, a quar-
ter of a mile distant, at their best
speed.
When they reached the over turned
car one of the occupants was strug-
gling dazedly to his feet. Neither of
the aviators wasted any time in use-
less conversation but firmly set him
down on the other side of the road
minus 2a leather “billy” and an ugly
automatic pistol. Another man was
groaning from his position partly un-
derneath the car while a third lay
quietly, with his head pillowed on a
mass of banknotes that had been split
from a burst suitcase.
Then it was that Freeman made
the remark that was to become fam-
ous afterwards.
“Too bad that you can’t eat bank-
notes,” he said feelingly as he bent
over the unconscious man.
Fortunately for the robbers, they
escaped wihout serious injury, num-
erous bruises and a fractured forearm
being the total of their hurts. The
tool kit had luckily missed the occu-
pants of the car but had struck the
road just ahead of the machine, scar-
ed the driver and made him lose ¢dn-
trol. The desired result had been
The welcome accorded Snow and
was nothing short of royal. Mr.
Howard apologized handsomely for
his attitude toward the flying con-
tract for the fair and presented the
partners with one which changed the
financial status of the corporation on
the spot.
Last spring the Alamo Airplane
Corporation’s bid for carrying mail
by airplane was accepted and their
record for efficiency during the last
six months is all that can be desired.
It might be added that one of the
: staunchest supporters of this venture
is Mr. Howard who has been thor-
oughly converted to the possibilities
of aviation.—The Reformatory Rec-
ord.
Hunting and Trapping.
Hunting increased 190 per cent.
during the ten-year period from 1911
to 1922. At that time, there was 4,-
495,007 licensed hunters in the United
States, and about 1,000,000 unlicens-
ed. If each of these killed only five
creatures during the year, it would
mean the destruction of 27,000,000
lives ‘and ‘an amount of ‘suffering. on
the part of helpless birds and animals
utterly beyond comprehension. A
few of the figures giving the number
of skins offered for sale in a single
week in St. Louis, the fur center of
the United States, will show why
some of our most interesting animals
are rapidly being exterminated:
Opossum’ ©... 00 00, ons 364,000
Squirrel ... 00 cL. 50000 00), 400,000
Muskrat .......0....0.0.... 333,500
Bed 40% ...i cise vnnninivien. 155,000
BOCCOON. oi. ci. codinaiiiei 21,000
Boar oi icaiviisrii sss ties nine 4,800
Do you wonder that the tree squir-
rel is extinct in over 90 per cent, of
its former range? :
Unfortunately, most people do not
realize that bears are one of our most
intelligent and peaceable creatures,
that they are among the nicest ani-
mals we have, and that they positive-
ly will not maliciously harm anyone
unless man has persecuted or injur-
ed them. I have had considerable ex-
erience with wild bears and know
his to be true. Bears are naturally
friendly. Think of it! Four thous-
and, eight hundred bear hides offer-
ed for sale in one great city!
The law requires, I believe, that
trappers, visit their traps at least
once each day, but in remote sections
of the country, very little attention
is paid to this law. Animals are
often left to suffer horrible tortures
for days at a time. The agony caus-
ed by the trap is so great that the
trapped creature not infrequently
gnaws its own. leg off in order to es-
cape. -I have in my possession a trap
from which a coyote escaped in this
He | manner. with ‘the _gnawed-off leg still
in it.
Even though each animal remained
in the trap for only one day, and
many remain for several, it would
mean that in order to supply the
skins listed above, the suffering en-
dured would be equivalent to one an-
imal’s enduring the most appalling,
acute physical anguish for 8,280
years. And remember that the list
above is only an infinitesimal fraction
of the whole list, so the suffering in-
volved is entirely beyond comprehen-
sion,
Remember also that this great
wrong is committed each year so that
“ladies” may wear furs. Every wom-
an who wears furs is a direct contri-
butor to this terrible cruelty. If
women did not buy furs, there would
be no market for them, and their or-
iginal owners would be living their
own lives out in the forest, where they
were intended to be lived.—Our Dumb
Animals.
New Feature for Elk County Fair.
An event which will prove of great
interest to the people of western
Pennsylvania is being planned by
the management of the Elk county
fair, which will be held at St. Mary's | f
from September 6th to 10th. The
event will be in the nature of Music
day at the fair, Wednesday, Septem-
ber 8th being the chosen day, and it
will be marked by special interest for
the uplift of music in all its various
forms and branches.
Featured on that day will be a band
tournament of North western Penn-
sylvania, a song festival, fiddlers con-
test, jazz orchestra contest, and many
minor items, each of which will tend
strongly towards the import of the
day. Large and attractive cash and
merchandise prizes will be offered in
the various contests, and this will be
means of attracting the attention of
musicians in a wide area to take part.
The Elk county fair is under entire-
ly new management this year, and a
week of entirely new and distinct at-
tractions is being planned. Albert
G. Brehm, the new secretary, in
whose charge is placed the responsi-
bility of conducting the fair, has had
a wide experience in the show world.
————— i
—Senator Blank was out hunting
with a friend. The friend fired at
what he thought was a deer. They
saw it fall.
“We got him that time, Bill,” said
the Senator.
“ ‘We’,” sneered the other. “There
is no ‘we about it. I killed him plain
enough.”
Quickly making their way to where
the quarry lay they found a fine spec-
imen of a Jersey calf.
“We've killed somebody’s calf,” ex-
claimed the friend.
The Senator gave him a withering
look and said: “William, you should
be more particular in your choice of
pronouns. ‘We’ isn’t adapted to the
present instance.”—Boston Tran-
script.
—Subscribe for the “Watchman.’
the latter was the case there remain- | achieved in causing the car
FARM NOTES.
—Cow testing assuciations
herds of pickpockets.
—Roughage is not a sufficient feed
for good dairy cows, especially if it
is somewhat poor in quality.
! —One pint of 40 per cent. formal-
, dehyde will treat 50 bushels of seed
"oats when it is diluted by an equal
measure of water. Ask the county
agent how to apply the treatment.
Save the crop from smut.
| —Are you building a new dairy
| barn his spring? Plan it carefully
! so that it will best and most econom-
ically serve its purpose as the factory
or workshop of the dairy farm, say
Pennsylvania State College dairy
: specialists.
rid’
—To learn whether the garden soil
has dried sufficiently to permit work-
ing, take a handful and squeeze it.
If the earth sticks together and yet
. will crumble easily when handled, it
| is time to start stirring it in prepara--
tion for planting.
| —Smut is not a necessary afflic-
| tion of oats. It can be prevented by
treating the seed oats with formal-
dehyde. Farmers who tried it and
. found it satisfactory consider treat-
| ment just as essential as putting the
oats in the seeder.
—Remember that grazing wood-
lands is the best way in the world to
create a future timber shortage. Na-
ture has never yet found a way to
keep trees growing when stock ate
the leaves off and trampled the seed-
lings into the ground.
—Old Dobbin is only an animal but.
a mighty faithful one. Treat him
right and he will do many a good
day’s work. Are his collar and
shoulders kept clean? Does his col-
lar fit properly? In return for good
care and good feed Dobbin gives ef-
ficient farm power.
—Plenty of organic matter in the
garden soil helps it hold moisture
and makes it more easily workable.
Supply the organic matter with a
heavy coating of manure, or by plow-
ing under a rye crop seeded last fall
or a longer growing green crop, such
as one of the clovers.
—What kind of hay will you have
for the dairy cows next winter. If
the clover has failed and you have no
alfalfa, plan to sow soybeans. They
have a feeding value equal to alfalfa.
Soybean hay in the ration will reduce
the amount of grain to be purchased
and will allow use of more home-
grown corn and oats.
—Just after the frost leaves the
ground the lawn needs light weight
rolling. This will prevent the sod
from cracking and detaching the ten-
der grass roots from the nourishing
soil, say landscape gardening special-
| ists of the Pennsylvania State Col-
lege. This early attention will pro-
duce a firm smooth summer lawn.
— Tools carefully overhauled prior
to.the beginning of the field work will
save many an hour when time is more
valuable than while the ground is
frozen. Plow points sharpened and
in place, tractors ready to turn over
promptly and run persistently, mis-
sing teeth replaced in the harrows all
will assist in making the spring work
go more smoothly. Harnesses, too,
properly repaired, will aid.
—DMoldy butter, which takes a toll
of many thousands of dollars from
creameries every year, can be abso-
lutely controlled and prevented, says
Harold Macy, bacteriologist for the
division of dairy husbandry of the
University of Minnesota. He points
out that molds are living plants and
must be present and alive to do any
damage. If they are excluded or de-
stroyed, there will be no moldiness of
the butter.
—Pennsylvania produces less than
one-fifth as much clover seed as the
farmers of the State require, states
a bulletin on “Red Clover College. C.
F. Noll, grain breeding specialist of
the college experiment station, and
his assistant, C. J. Irvin, are the
authors. The bulletin is sent free
upon request.
Ten to 20 per cent. of the red clo-
ver sown by: farmers of ‘the United
States is imported, the publication
reveals. Imported seed in the past
few years has come chiefly from the
ollowing countries, named in the
order of the relative amounts receiv-
ed each year: France, Germany, Po-
land, and the United Kingdom.
France in the last few years supplied
nearly one-half of the foreign seegq.
In 1924, 70 per cent. of the imported
seed came from that country, and
from July 1 to November 30, 1925, it
sent over ninety per cent.
clover is of European origin.
While there are records of its hav-
ing been grown in New England be-
fore 1747, it was nof an important
crop in this country until 1850. De-
spite the fact that all clover orginal-
ly came from Europe, Noll and Irvin
report many differences now.
—Thirty Pennsylvania cow testing
associations had 1303 cows which pro-
duced an average of 40 or more
pounds of butterfat during February,
the Pennsylvania State College dairy
extension service reports. During the
same period 1727 cows passed the
1000-pound milk mark.
Four hundred and twenty-five of
the 40-pound cows produced more
than fifty pounds of butterfat, and
858 of the 1000-pound milkers gave
1200 or more pounds of milk. Ten
thousand, five hundred and one cows
were tested.
The Warren-Elk association led in
total number of cows tested with
596. The Carbon-Lehigh association
had the largest number of 40-pound
butterfat producers, 85, and the most
1000-pound milkers, 136. This same
association had the highest 10-cow
average in butterfat, 75.5 pounds.
A registered Holstein, owned by
W. H. Landis, of the Montgomery as-
sociation, was the best milker for the
month. She gave 27565 pounds in the
28 days. Another registered Holstein,
owned by R. L. Sheaffer, of the Car-
bon Lehigh association, produced
103.4 pounds of butterfat for the
| leadership among individual animals.